Google

Kate Brandt leads sustainability across Google’s worldwide operations and products. In this role, she works with Google’s data centers, real estate, supply chain, and product teams to ensure the company is capitalizing on opportunities to strategically advance sustainability and circular economy. Previously, Brandt served as the United States’ first federal chief sustainability officer. In this capacity, she was responsible for promoting sustainability across federal government operations, including 360,000 buildings, 650,000 vehicles, and US$445 billion annually in purchased goods and services. Prior to the White House, Brandt held several senior roles in U.S. federal government, including senior advisor at the Department of Energy, director for energy and environment in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, and energy advisor to the secretary of the Navy. She is the recipient of the Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest award the U.S. Navy can give to a civilian, for her work helping the Navy go green. Outside Magazine also named her, in honor of the magazine’s 40-year anniversary, as one of 40 women who has made the biggest impact on our world.

CecileRichards

Cecile Richards is a nationally respected leader in the field of women’s health and reproductive rights who leads a movement that has worked for more than 100 years to build a healthier and safer world for women and teens. Every year, approximately 650 Planned Parenthood affiliate health centers nationwide provide healthcare services to 2.5 million patients, and sex education and outreach to 1.5 million people. Since joining Planned Parenthood in 2006, Richards has expanded its advocacy for access to healthcare and ensured that Planned Parenthood played a pivotal role in shaping healthcare coverage and services for women under the Affordable Care Act. In 2011, she led an unprecedented nationwide campaign to preserve access to Planned Parenthood preventive care through federal programs. Under her leadership, the number of Planned Parenthood supporters has more than doubled, reaching 10 million. Previously, Richards served as deputy chief of staff for House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.

BradSmi

Brad Smith is Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer. In this role, Smith is responsible for the company’s corporate, external, and legal affairs. He leads a team of more than 1,300 business, legal, and corporate affairs professionals working in 55 countries. These teams are responsible for the company’s legal work, its intellectual property portfolio, patent licensing business, corporate philanthropy, government affairs, public policy, corporate governance, and social responsibility work. He is also Microsoft’s chief compliance officer. Smith plays a key role in representing the company externally and in leading the company’s work on a number of critical issues including privacy, security, accessibility, environmental sustainability, and digital inclusion, among others. Smith joined Microsoft in 1993, and before becoming general counsel in 2002, he spent three years leading the Legal and Corporate Affairs (LCA) team in Europe, then five years serving as the deputy general counsel responsible for LCA’s teams outside the United States.

KoboriGrillsCSR

Michael Kobori has led sustainability at Levi Strauss & Co. since 2001. In this role, he is responsible for the company’s sustainability vision and strategy across all business functions. Under Kobori’s tenure, Levi Strauss & Co. has been an industry leader in sustainability, pioneering initiatives such as the rollout of Water Less production techniques, reducing water use by more than 2 billion liters to date; growth of Better Cotton to 21 percent of all the company’s cotton usage; development of a hazard-based Screened Chemistry Framework; expansion of Worker Well-Being programs to more than 100,000 workers; and inclusion of Care for the Planet™ labels on all products. Previously, Kobori was a vice president at BSR and spent nearly 10 years at The Asia Foundation.